Destiny 2 Shadowkeep Adds Tougher Nightfalls, Better Rewards

The Shadowkeep expansion is host to a whole lot of changes for Destiny 2. Bungie detailed another one of those changes in a recent video: a major rework of how Nightfall Strikes work. Shadowkeep's Nightfalls will be significantly more difficult than what we've seen in Destiny 2's up to now, with an increase in rewards to match. The new system is called Nightfall: The Ordeal, and it sounds like it could be one of Destiny 2's greatest endgame challenges.

In its ViDoc discussing Shadowkeep, the Season of the Undying, and Year Three beyond, Bungie showed a look at the new Nightfall menu. The new brand of top-level Strikes go by the name Nightfall: The Ordeal. It's broken up into four different difficulty tiers, starting wth Adept, which requires a Power level of 750 (which you'll automatically start at when Shadowkeep releases), and topping out at 980 with Master. Those levels show that Nightfalls are about to be a bigger part of the endgame grind, it seems, requiring you to really amp up your character to complete them.

Nightfall: The Ordeal Tiers

• Adept - 750 Power Level
• Hero - 920 Power Level
• Legend - 950 Power Level
• Master - 980 Power Level

Which level of Nightfall you go for will seriously affect its difficulty, adding a whole host of new modifiers--most of which we don't know anything about yet. Known modifiers include Match Game, which requires you to use energy weapons that correspond to the elemental type of an enemy's shield, and Chaff, which disables your radar. Some new ones are Empath and Hashladun's Serenade.

The Ordeal also includes a new enemy type called Champions, which sound like they're especially tough to beat. Champions also get modifiers of their own. According to Bungie, the new Season Artifact items players earn and power up will be essential to working through The Ordeal, as these will give you the ability to take on and deal with Champions. Artifacts also allow you to boost your Power level indefinitely--these items are how you'll reach those top-tier Power levels in the high 900s.

The rewards for the Nightfalls look like they'll match accordingly. The Master level states Exotic gear is a Common drop for completing the Strikes. Also included as rewards are Enhancement Prisms (which are Common) and Ascendant Shards (Uncommon). Those sound like materials you'll use to upgrade Exotic gear--we last heard about Ascendant Shards in Destiny 1, where they were used to power up gear from the Vault of Glass raid.

The ViDoc dropped a lot more information as well. It includes some hints about what to expect from the rest of Destiny 2's third year, including a serious story hint about time travel. We also got a brief look at the Lectern of Enchantment, which looks to be the system through which you'll earn Shadowkeep gear by finishing Nightmare Hunts, one of the new activities in the expansion.